So you can get a prespective of just how big the fall is, this is John and Ilean raomping in the pool in front ot the fall. It was about 15 to 20 feet tall.

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These are people from the group that was following us. Mid you this was a challenging walk, steep, narrow, slippery, and HOT! This groupd had a really fat ugly American, his whiney daughter and his mail order Thai wife. I couldn't believe they made it as far as the did. While we were eating lunch we sat at the same table as the Ugly American and his family. I bee flew up and the Ugly American's duaghter had a FIT! The bug was no where near her yet she acted like she was bing attacked by a swarm of killer bees.

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One of my last shots as we left the fall. Thiswas take up above the fall.

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The trek

I want to say that this is the river we walked along as we made our way to the Karen village. But actually the river is MUCH longer than it appears in the photograph. This is one of Several shots taken while at the first rest stop.

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Same shot but in B&W.

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I like the look of B&W for these river shots. It hwlps cover the fact that the light was terrible that day. Good weather for hicking but bad for taking pictures.

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More from the rest stop along or path.

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Along the river on the way to the Karen Village

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At the first rest stop.

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I later regretted not resting at the rest stop.

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At about this time, an hour into the hike, I was thinking that one of these would be a great way to get up the hill. Up untill this point the path was a wide clay road that you could tell tucks and motorbikes also used. Soon after we passed this bike sitting off to the side we came to a rest station. Once we left the rest station I understood why the bike was left behind. The path turned into a six inch wide cut into the jungle. It was steep, rocky and slippery.

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This hut is in the middle of a rice field. This is a type of rice that is not grown in water, it is planed once a year on the side of the hill during the rainly season. The hut is a place for the workers to rest while eating lunch or escaping the heat of the day.

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This is "Hot Dog". He followed up all the way up the "hill" to the Karen village. Once we got there he disappeared. I guess he went back down to the base of the hill to tag along with the next group that trekked up the hill.

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This is one of the elephant "snack shacks" we would stop at along the way. This one was not being used durin our trip. Typically there is a woman and a couplke of kids sitting there with bags of bananas and sugarcane. At a few there were coolers that had bottle of cold water, sodas and beer.

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Is there such a thing as elephant drivers education?

Janet and Ilean had the worst experience riding the elephants. The driver was either new or just rough with his animal. She did not like to obey and you could hear him yelling to get her to move.

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Making your own path

These are paths worn into the jungle floor by the elephants. The ride is surprisingly smooth.

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Feeding time

One of the things about this ride was the "comercialness" of it. It was an hour ride, but it would have been thrity minutes if we didn't stop every 100 yards to by bananas and sugarcane to feed to the elephants. It's is not that it was expensive, only 20 baht (50 cent), just annoying.

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Rice patties

This was a hut near where we picked up the elephants. Behind are rice fields.

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...as high as an elephant's eye

This was the elephant we road. She and our "driver" were very in tune with each other. Most of his commands were verbal or gentle nudges behind the ear.

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Jeff being Jeff

Careful what you do in front of the photographers!

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